Singapore's goods and services tax hikes lead to inflation pickup. (Photo: straitstimes.com)
Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s coreinflation rose slightly to 3.3% year-on-year in December last year❀, officialdata has showe༺d.
It edged up from 3.2% year-on-year in November dueto higher services inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and theMinistry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said. Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and privatetransport costs, had risen to 5.5% in January and February last year, a14-year high, before trending downwards. It fell to 3% in September,the lowest since March 2022. For the whole of 2023, core inflation averaged 4.2%higher than 4.1% in 2022. Meanwhile, the headlineconsumer price index, or overall inflation, was 3.7% in December, higher than the 3.6 % in November. This reflected a faster pace of increase in private transportcosts, alongside the pickup in services inflation, said MAS and MTI. Overall inflation came in at 4.8%, down from 6.1% the previous year. Inflation rates in 2023 were impacted by the increase inthe goods and services tax rate to 8%, authorities said.
Singapore's economy grew by 1.2% last year, avoiding a recession amid a global economic slowdown stemming from high interest rates, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on January 2.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
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Singapore's goods and services tax hikes lead to inflation pickup. (Photo: straitstimes.com) 
